Shred resistant shoelaces

ABSTRACT

A damage resistant shoelace may include a lace and a treatment composition applied to at least a portion of the lace. The treatment composition may include a superglue adhesive, an adhesive, and a sealant, such as a liquid rubber sealant coating in aerosol form.

BACKGROUND

The embodiments herein relate generally to footwear, and more particularly, to shred or damage resistant shoelaces.

Many athletes, such as skateboarders, ice skaters, soccer players, snowboarders, and the like, wear footwear with shoelaces. However, because of the nature of the different sports, these shoelaces often have to be replaced frequently due to damage and shredding.

For example, most skateboarders go through a pair of shoelaces in one day, because they shred or otherwise rupture during use, which hinders performance. Specifically, when it comes to skateboarding, conventional shoelaces are easily damaged when they come in contact with skateboard grip tape.

When an athlete's shoelace snaps, this could be dangerous for the athlete because the secure footing is now loosened.

Therefore, what is needed is a pair of shoelaces that lace and tie like conventional shoelaces, while also being made of a material that is damage or shred resistant.

SUMMARY

Some embodiments of the present disclosure include a damage resistant shoelace. The damage resistant shoelace may include a lace and a treatment composition applied to at least a portion of the lace. The treatment composition may include a superglue adhesive, an adhesive, and a sealant, such as a liquid rubber sealant coating in aerosol form.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The detailed description of some embodiments of the invention is made below with reference to the accompanying figures, wherein like numerals represent corresponding parts of the figures.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a section detail view of one embodiment of the present disclosure, taken along line 2-2 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a section detail view of one embodiment of the present disclosure, taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS

In the following detailed description of the invention, numerous details, examples, and embodiments of the invention are described. However, it will be clear and apparent to one skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth and that the invention can be adapted for any of several applications.

The device of the present disclosure may be used as damage resistant shoelaces and may comprise the following elements. This list of possible constituent elements is intended to be exemplary only, and it is not intended that this list be used to limit the device of the present application to just these elements. Persons having ordinary skill in the art relevant to the present disclosure may understand there to be equivalent elements that may be substituted within the present disclosure without changing the essential function or operation of the device.

a. Shoelace

b. Treatment Composition

The various elements of the device of the present disclosure may be related in the following exemplary fashion. It is not intended to limit the scope or nature of the relationships between the various elements and the following examples are presented as illustrative examples only.

By way of example, and referring to FIGS. 1-3 some embodiments of the present disclosure include a damage resistant shoelace comprising a lace 10; and a treatment composition 14 applied to at least a portion of the lace 10. In embodiments, the treatment composition 14 may comprise a combination of a superglue adhesive, an adhesive, and a sealant.

In embodiments, the superglue adhesive may comprise, for example, either cyanoacrylate or polyurethane adhesive. Any cyanoacrylate adhesive may be used, including ethyl-2-cyanoacrylate and KRAZY GLUE brand maximum bond adhesive, wherein the KRAZY GLUE brand maximum bond adhesive comprises at least about 95 wt % ethyl cyanoacrylate and about 0.1 wt % methylenebis(4-methyl-6-tert-butylphenol). Alternatively, any polyurethane adhesive may be used, including GORILLA GLUE original adhesive, which comprises from about 40 to about 70 wt % polyisocyanate prepolymer, about 10 to about 30 wt % polymeric diphenylmethane diisocyanate (pMDI), about 10 to about 30 wt % 4,4′-methylenediphenyl diisocyanate, about 1 to about 5 wt % diphenyl diisocyanate mixed isomers, and about 0.1 to about 1 wt % of an additive.

Suitable adhesives include all-purpose spray adhesives, such as HDX brand all-purpose spray adhesive, which comprises about 5 to about 10 wt % n-Heptane, about 10 to about 30 wt % pentane, and about 30 to about 60 wt % propane/isobutane.

Suitable sealants include liquid rubber sealant coating and, particularly, spray liquid rubber sealant coating, such as mastic rubberized coatings. For example, a suitable liquid rubber sealant coating comprises FLEX SEAL brand liquid rubber sealant coating spray in black, wherein the spray is a rubberized coating that sprays out as liquid and dries to form a watertight, rubber coating. In some embodiments, the liquid rubber sealant may comprise an ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber.

The components of the treatment composition 14 may be mixed in any suitable amounts. In some embodiments, a 14 oz can of sealant may be enough for about twenty laces (ten pairs of laces); a 13.5 oz can of spray adhesive may be enough for about 200 laces (100 pairs of laces; and a 2 oz bottle of GORILLA GLUE brand superglue adhesive or a 0.14 oz bottle of KRAZY GLUE brad superglue adhesive may be enough for about 100 laces (50 pairs of laces). Thus, the treatment composition for an individual lace may comprise, for example, from about 0.5-1 oz sealant, from about 0.05 to about 0.075 oz spray adhesive, and about 0.001 to about 0.025 oz superglue adhesive.

The lace 10 may be made of any suitable, desired, or known lace material. For example, the lace 10 may be made of a plurality of lace threads 12, such as cotton threads. Alternatively, the lace 10 may comprise leather, nylon, polyester, polypropylene, and the like. The lace 10 may, like conventional shoelaces, include an aglet on either end thereof.

As shown in FIG. 1, at least a portion of the lace 10 may have the treatment composition 14 applied thereto. For example, a central region of the lace 10 may have the treatment composition 14 applied thereto, while areas of the lace 10 proximate to the ends of the lace 10 may not have the treatment composition 14 applied thereto. In a particular embodiment, about 8 inches at each end of the lace 10 may be left untreated. Thus, the shoelace of the present disclosure may only have a portion of the lace 10 treated. The ends of the lace 10 may be left untreated to provide for easier tying of the lace 10. However, while the lace 10 may be harder to tie, other embodiments may include the treatment composition 14 applied to the entire lace 10.

The treatment composition 14 may be applied to the lace 10 using any suitable method. In some embodiments, the lace 10 is soaked in the treatment composition 14, such that the treatment composition 14 is absorbed by the lace 10. However, in other embodiments such as those shown in the Figures, the lace 10 may be coated with the treatment composition 10 such that an exterior surface of the lace 10 is completely covered by the treatment composition 10.

In a particular embodiment, three pairs of laces may be laid on a surface, such as a table. First, the superglue adhesive may be applied to a central portion of the laces 10. The laces 10 may be flipped over to ensure that each side of the laces 10 are soaked with the superglue adhesive. Then, the adhesive may be applied to each side of the laces 10 by spraying each side of the laces 10 with one pass of the adhesive, wherein the one pass soaks the laces 10. Finally, the sealant may be sprayed on each side of the laces 10 until the laces 10 are soaked. Optionally, because the end of each lace 10 may be left untreated, a user may tape or otherwise prevent the ends of each lace 10 from having the treatment composition applied thereto.

While a particular application process is described above, any known method, including soaking, spraying, spreading, brushing, a combination thereof, and the like, may be used for applying the treatment composition 14 to the lace 10.

Persons of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate that numerous design configurations may be possible to enjoy the functional benefits of the inventive systems. Thus, given the wide variety of configurations and arrangements of embodiments of the present invention the scope of the invention is reflected by the breadth of the claims below rather than narrowed by the embodiments described above. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A damage resistant shoelace comprising: a lace; and a treatment composition applied to at least a portion of the lace, the treatment composition comprising a superglue adhesive, an adhesive, and a sealant.
 2. The damage resistant shoelace of claim 1, wherein the superglue adhesive is a member selected from the group consisting of a cyanoacrylate adhesive and a polyurethane adhesive.
 3. The damage resistant shoelace of claim 1, wherein the adhesive comprises a spray all-purpose adhesive.
 4. The damage resistant shoelace of claim 3, wherein the adhesive comprises acetone, n-Heptane, pentane, and propane/isobutene.
 5. The damage resistant shoelace of claim 1, wherein the sealant comprises a liquid rubber sealant coating spray.
 6. The damage resistant shoelace of claim 5, wherein the sealant comprises a mastic rubberized coating spray.
 7. The damage resistant shoelace of claim 6, wherein the sealant comprises an ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber.
 8. The damage resistant shoelace of claim 1, wherein the treatment composition for a single lace comprises: about 0.001 to about 0.025 oz superglue adhesive; about 0.05 to about 0.075 oz adhesive; and about 0.5 to about 1 oz sealant.
 9. The damage resistant shoelace of claim 1, wherein: a central portion of the lace is treated with the treatment composition; and each end of the lace is untreated.
 10. The damage resistant shoelace of claim 9, wherein about 8 inches at each end of the lace is left untreated. 